1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interactive toy such as a dog type robot or the like, a reaction behavior pattern generating device and a reaction behavior pattern generating method of an imitated life object to a stimulus.
2. Description of Related Art
In earlier technology, an interactive toy which acts as if it were communicating with a user, has been known. As a typical example of this kind of interactive toy, a robot having a form of a dog or a cat or the like is mentioned. Besides, a virtual pet, which is incarnated by displaying on a display or the like, or the like, corresponds to this kind of interactive toy. In the specification, the interactive toy incarnated as hardware, or the virtual pet incarnated as software, is named generically and suitably called an xe2x80x9cimitated life objectxe2x80x9d. A user can enjoy by observing the imitated life object, which acts in response to the stimulus given from the outside, and comes to be able to carry out empathy.
For example, in the Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 7-83794, a technology of generating reaction behavior of an interactive toy is disclosed. Concretely, a specific stimulus (e.g. a sound) given artificially is detected, and the number of times (the number of input times of the stimulus) is counted. Then, the contents of reaction of the interactive toy are changed by the counted number. Therefore, it is possible to give the user such feeling as the interactive toy is growing up.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel reaction behavior generating technique, which makes an interactive toy take reaction behavior.
Further, another object of the present invention is to enable to set reaction behavior of an interactive toy rich in variation, and to make the toy take reaction behavior of rich individuality.
In order to solve the above-described problems, according to a first aspect of the present invention, an interactive toy comprising a stimulus detecting member for detecting an inputted stimulus, an actuating member for actuating the interactive toy, and a control member for controlling the action member to make the interactive toy take reaction behavior to the stimulus detected from the stimulus detecting member, is provided. Here, the above-described control member changes the reaction behavior of the interactive toy according to the total value of generated action points caused by the reaction behavior of the interactive toy. Thus, the reaction behavior (output) of the interactive toy is made into points, and the reaction behavior of the interactive toy is changed according to the total value of the points. Thereby, both enriching the variation over the reaction behavior and prediction difficulty of the reaction behavior can be attempted.
Here, in the interactive toy of the present invention, the generated action point caused by the reaction behavior of the interactive toy, is preferable to be the number of points according to the contents of the reaction behavior. For example, it can be the number of points corresponding to the time of reaction behavior.
Further, in the interactive toy of the present invention, after distributing an action point at least to a first total value or a second total value, according to a predetermined rule, it is preferable to count the first total value and the second total value. It is also desirable to distribute the action point by the contents of the inputted stimulus. For example, the generated action point caused by the reaction behavior corresponding to a contact stimulus, may be distributed to the first total value, and the generated action point caused by the reaction behavior corresponding to a non-contact stimulus, may be distributed to the second total value. Thus, when distributing the action point, the control member may count separately the first total value and the second total value. Then, the control member may determine the reaction behavior of the interactive toy based on the first total value and the second total value.
Moreover, in the interactive toy of the present invention, it is preferable to further provide a character state map, in which a plurality of character parameters that affect the reaction behavior of the interactive toy is set. Further, the character parameters are written in the character state map by matching with the first total value and the second total value. In this case, the control member may select a character parameter based on the first total value and the second total value, with reference to the character state map. Besides, the control member may determine the reaction behavior of the interactive toy based on the selected character parameter.
Furthermore, in the interactive toy of the present invention, the control member may count the first total value and the second total value within the time limit set at random. Thereby, prediction of the reaction behavior can be made much more difficult.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a reaction behavior pattern generating device for generating a reaction behavior pattern of an imitated life object to an inputted stimulus, comprises a reaction behavior pattern table, a selection member, a counting member, and an update member. In the reaction behavior pattern table, the reaction behavior pattern of the imitated life object to a stimulus is written by relating with a character parameter, which affects the reaction behavior of the imitated life object. The selection member selects the reaction behavior pattern to the inputted stimulus based on the set value of the character parameter, with reference to the reaction behavior pattern table. Then, the counting member counts the total value of generated action points caused by the reaction behavior of the imitated life object according to the reaction behavior pattern selected by the selection member. Moreover, the update member updates the set value of the character parameter, according to the total value of the action points.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a reaction behavior pattern generating device for generating a reaction behavior pattern of an imitated life object to an inputted stimulus, comprises a character state map, a counting member, and an update member. In the character state map, a plurality of character parameters, which affect reaction behavior of the imitated life object, are set. The character parameters are also written in the character state map by matching with a first total value and a second total value related to an action point. The counting member counts the first total value and the second total value after distributing the generated action point caused by the reaction behavior of the imitated life object at least to the first total value or the second total value, according to a predetermined rule. The update member updates the set value of a character parameter by selecting the character parameter based on the first total value and the second total value, with reference to the above-described character state map. In such a structure, the reaction behavior of the imitated life object to the inputted stimulus is determined based on the set value of the character parameter. Thus, since the reaction behavior of the imitated life object is set based on a plurality of character parameters, it is difficult for a user to predict the reaction behavior of the imitated life object.
Here, in the second or third aspect of the present invention, the counting member is preferable to count the total value within the time limit set at random. Thereby, prediction of the reaction behavior can be made much more difficult.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, it relates to a reaction behavior pattern generating method for generating a reaction behavior pattern of an imitated life object to an inputted stimulus. The generating method comprises the following steps. At first, in a selecting step, the reaction behavior pattern of the imitated life object to an inputted stimulus is selected based on the present set value of a character parameter, with reference to a reaction behavior pattern table, in which the reaction behavior pattern of the imitated life object to a stimulus is written by relating with the character parameter that affects the reaction behavior of the imitated life object. Next, in a counting step, the total value of generated action points caused by the reaction behavior of the imitated life object according to the selected reaction behavior pattern, is counted. Then, in an updating step, the set value of the character parameter is updated according to the total value of the action points.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, it relates to a reaction behavior pattern generating method for generating a reaction behavior pattern of an imitated life object to an inputted stimulus. The generating method comprises the following steps. At first, in a counting step, after distributing a generated action point caused by the reaction behavior of the imitated life object at least to a first total value or a second total value, according to a predetermined rule, the first total value and the second total value are counted. Next, in an updating step, a set value of a character parameter is updated by selecting the character parameter based on the first total value and the second total value, with reference to a character state map, in which a plurality of character parameters that affect the reaction behavior of the imitated life object are set. The character parameters are written in the character state map by matching with the first total value and the second total value related to an action point. Then, in a determining step, the reaction behavior of the imitated life object to the inputted stimulus is determined based on the set value of the character parameter.
Here, in any one of the second to the fifth aspects of the present invention, the generated action point caused by the reaction behavior of the imitated life object, is preferable to be the number of points according to the contents of the reaction behavior. For example, it can be the number of points corresponding to the reaction behavior time of the imitated life object.
Further, in the third or the fifth aspect of the present invention, the generated action point caused by the reaction behavior of the imitated life object, is preferable to be distributed to the first total value or the second total value, according to the contents of the inputted stimulus. For example, the generated action point caused by the reaction behavior corresponding to a contact stimulus may be distributed to the first total value, and the generated action point caused by the reaction behavior corresponding to a non-contact stimulus, may be distributed to the second total value.
Moreover, in the fourth or the fifth aspect of the present invention, the above-described counting step is preferable to count the total value within the time limit set at random. Thereby, prediction of the reaction behavior can be made much more difficult.